Tampa Bay jazz trio La Lucha is closing out a packed week of local shows with a free concert at St. Pete Pier on Sunday, October 4, part of a run of performances timed to the release of their new album, Tides. The band — pianist John O’Leary, bassist Alejandro Arenas and drummer Mark Feinman — has built a sound around jazz, Latin rhythms, blues, rock and classical touches over two decades of playing together.
According to Creative Loafing Tampa, the St. Pete Pier show is part of St. Petersburg’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations and carries no cover charge. The bill also includes DMQ, The 813 P.R.Oject and Tania Torres, per that same report. The concert caps a stretch that finds La Lucha everywhere in Tampa Bay this week: Creative Loafing Tampa reports the trio played Green Light Cinema on Friday, held a Tides record release in Ruskin on Saturday, and is set to perform at La Sétima in Ybor City on Sunday as well, ahead of the Pier date.
A Trio Forged at USF, Still Playing Two Decades Later
La Lucha’s three members — Mexican pianist John C. O’Leary, American drummer Mark Feinman and Colombian bassist Alejandro Arenas — have spent more than 15 years blending their distinct backgrounds into one voice, according to WUSF. The outlet notes the group combines jazz with Latin rhythms, blues, rock and classical influences to create a sound uniquely their own.
The band has actually been playing together for 20 years now, per the St. Pete Catalyst. That outlet says the musicians met as University of South Florida music students in 2005, though All About Jazz describes them as having first met at USF in 2006 — accounts that differ on the exact year the friendship began.
Tides Marks a New Chapter After a Move to Minnesota
Tides is the first set of tunes the trio has recorded since Feinman and his family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the late summer of 2025, the St. Pete Catalyst reports. Despite the distance, Feinman has returned to the La Lucha fold multiple times since relocating, with performances in Florida, Mexico and the Pacific Northwest, the same report notes. The album also features guest performances from Wycliffe Gordon, Allison Nash, singer Guianna and saxophonist Jeff Coffin, per the Catalyst’s account.
Feinman’s continued presence in the band isn’t new to Tampa Bay audiences. He performed at Hillsborough Community College’s Mainstage Theatre in Ybor City on September 11, 2022, a show photographed by Stephen Splane.
Hispanic Heritage Month Events Stretch Across the Bay
St. Petersburg’s Hispanic Heritage Month programming traditionally runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, with the City of St. Petersburg stating that its events are free and open to the public. Last year’s edition included a cultural experience at the St. Pete Pier on Oct. 11 featuring Hispanic food trucks, a live Latin DJ and family-friendly activities, the city said.
Elsewhere around the region, Axios Tampa Bay reports Hispanic Heritage Month programming runs through Oct. 15 this year, with offerings including the Bienvenido celebration at Bonnet Springs Park in Lakeland on Oct. 10 and the Taste of Latino Festival at Tampa’s Centennial Park on Oct. 11. Axios also points visitors to Ybor City Museum State Park to learn about the neighborhood’s Cuban and Spanish roots.
